Bishop | 2013 | Trilogía

Lo-fi Electronica | Ambient
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Enlace | mp3 | 320 Kbps

In October 2013, Bishop's untitled trilogy –consisting of albums Dock Sud, La Era del Gran Ordenador and ROM– confirmed once again that the Argentine's music has no equal.
Each one with a unique spirit, the records that constitute this colossal work are fueled by honest humanity and a sound that is both simple and profound, and which in its minimalism manages to create emotive, captivating and purifying atmospheres. In sum, this trilogy is a true cathartic process, beginning with Dock Sud, which has somewhat more crude and nervous nuances, then through the dreamier and more delicate La Era del Gran Ordenador, and finishing with ROM, of a more intense and liberating sound, constituting the big treasure within a trilogy that has no low points, thus closing on a high note one of the key albums from 2013 and, in general, an essential piece in the collection of any lover of soulful music. —IMF

Thanatoloop | 2015 | Irpasiri

Experimental | Industrial | Avant-Pop
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Michel Leroy (Korg Trinity Plus and Electribe, tapes, field recordings, vocals) and Kamila Lunae (vocals)

Although Thanatoloop's discography as a whole constitutes, in its originality, an oddity, Irpasiri is an album that stands out in a particular way within the Chilean's vast catalog. Estranging itself from Thanatoloop's most noisy tradition, this is a record that explores neighbouring soundscapes with beautiful delicacy.
Thus, the exploration begins with an industrial experiment which suddently becomes an introspective form of avant-pop, which to some extent evokes Psychic TV or even The Legendary Pink Dots. Then, a comeback to the experimental atmospheres follows, intermittently playing with that new avant-pop formula geniusly developed by Michel Leroy, with a sound tinged with a melancholic and fragile intimacy, free of excesses and reduced to its essence. For the same reason, Irpasiri is elusive to the listener: it demands a certain mood in order to reveal all its richness, which lies precisely in that introspective character and that minimalist spirit which does not show its secrets at first listen.
In its simplicity, Irpasiri hides beautiful nuances that, rather than positioning it in a privileged place within Thanatoloop's trajectory merely due to its sonic divergence, transform it into a prominent album by its own merit: due to its quality, its melodic sensitivity and its depth. —IMF

Luciernaga | 2016 | Sic Transit Gloria

Drone | Ambient | Noise
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Sic Transit Gloria (latin for "Thus passes the glory"), one of Luciernaga's most recent releases, constitutes a true introspetive trip in a drone/ambient code. As Joao Da Silva –the Chilean musician behind Luciernaga– himself explains, the album is "about [his] family and hometown, Santiago, Chile, and their complicated history". And although it was recorded in Brooklyn, where he lives, Luciernaga captured that inspiration perfectly.
Starting with the crestfallen unease of "11:00 AM 9/11/73" –the allusion being evident*–, Sic Transit Gloria begins with a subtle and mild wander through melancholic and introspective soundscapes that reflect the complicated history to which he refers. Thus, in the three following pieces Da Silva delicately and patiently weaves a minimalist sonic fabric that traps the listener in a quietude that, however, does not leave aside the taciturn spirit which tinges this album from its very beginning. In this regard, "Mi Obstinada Memoria" ("My Stubborn Memory") particularly stands out, a song that lies halfway between Terry Riley and La Monte Young.
The tempest is at sight again in "Aire Negro" ("Black Air"); slowly, the sound becomes dark, somewhat evoking Deathprod or Oren Ambarchi's work with Jim O'Rourke. Finally, "La tragedia que es Chile" ("The tragedy that Chile is") decidedly persists in its predecessor's mood, with a sound that, venturing into an oppresive kind of dark ambient, has already left behind the timidity that is present in a good portion of Sic Transit Gloria, entering into the fields of noise with an experiment which constitutes ths record's most abstract track. Thus, the album ends with the same early intranquility, a reflection of Luciernaga's outstanding ability not only to develop atmospheres that shine in musical terms, but also to provide its sound with preeminent solemnity and sensitivity, which are perfectly transmitted to the listener. This is the true challenge facing the artists within this genre and Luciernaga achieves it comfortably, no doubt. —IMF
*Pinochet's coup d'état took place on September 11, 1973, followed by 17 years of carnage, repression and blatant fascism.

Cluster | 2016 | Konzerte 1972/1977

Experimental | Drone | Ambient
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Link | mp3 | V0 (ripped by us)

Certainly, a good portion of the interest surrounding the 1971-1981 box set, recently released by Bureau B, lied upon Konzerte 1972/1977, the ninth album in this collection, consisting of previously unreleased live recordings of Cluster. Particularly, the album contains two tracks: one recorded in 1972 in Hamburg, Germany, and the other recorded in 1977 in Metz, France.
If one takes the duo's discography as a benchmark, the fact that Cluster's sound is so similar in both tracks might be odd. In 1972, the band released Cluster II, so, although that album already incorporated more melodic sounds than Cluster 71, the highly experimental approach that shows up in "Fabrik, Hamburg 1972" is not unexpected. By contrast, in 1977 Cluster had already published Zuckerzeit –a pivotal milestone in their discography, with a decidedly more melodic sound than its predecessors–, Sowiesoso and Cluster & Eno –albums that, albeit more ambient-oriented, persisted in that direction–, such that "Festival International de la Science-Fiction, Metz 1977" might be surprising.
Nevertheless, in the first place, the duo's various live albums –Live in Vienna (which was omitted from this collection, strangely), Japan 1996 Live, First Encounter Tour 1996 and Berlin 07– already reflected the fact that Cluster's live performances followed their own path, parallel to their studio work. In fact, the one element that characterizes those live records is, precisely, their undeniably experimental spirit. Secondly (and nuancing what I have just said), throughout the band's trajectory that exploratory character did show a clear evolution, which looms out in the two tracks that form Konzerte 1972/1977. Thus, whereas in Hamburg the sonic ramblings were more erratic and multiform, in Metz Roedelius and Moebius (RIP) already had developed their own language, a peerless telepathy that enabled them to build the hypnotic and meditative atmospheres so unique of Cluster's sound in a much more conscientious and pacient manner.
Beyond its collecting value, Konzerte 1972/1977 is an album which, like much of Cluster's discography, conceals behind its cryptic nature an artistic value that does not show up just like that, but that is certainly there. The sonic sensitivity and the inextinguishable creativity of Roedelius and Moebius's society are as pronounced here as in any other point of their vast trajectory, and recordings like this just confirm to what extent Cluster's immesurable legacy has been underrated, a fact to which the inalienable modesty of both musicians certainly contributed.
Cluster may have come to an end, but that creative spirit, that soul of exuberant emotivity and honesty glows as alive as ever in the music the duo produced across its almost four decades of sonic alchemy, and Konzerte 1972/1977 is yet another reminder of that. —IMF

Uma Totoro | 2014 | Energía Solar Para Tortugas Gigantes

Experimental | Post-Rock
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Link | mp3 | V0

Uma Totoro's self-titled debut had a palpable exploratory character that in their second album, Aparatos que median entre la realidad y el hombre, shaped a very unique sound, a dynamic type of experimental post-rock which, albeit having some electronic elements, was quite organic. In that chronology, Energía solar para tortugas gigantes is possibly the highest point in the duo's discography, mainly due to the nice dicotomy that is found in it: the confirmation of that characteristic sound –with more maturity, certainly– and, at the same time, an eclecticism that marks a sort of comeback to Uma Totoro's more adventurous spirit.
Thus, for example, in addition to songs that are more traditional (within the band's style), such as "El Jirafonte" or "Al calor de las máquinas", we are faced with "Lobotomóvil", which could be an interlude in a recent Tangerine Dream record; "Incidente en Roswell", which sounds like an electronic experiment by Radiohead; or the album closer, "Costa de Marfil", with an almost industrial sound. In that context, the fact that the band included acoustic instruments in their music, such as in "Bonbyx Mori" or "El Sol que rebota en los peces", is not surprising, and they work pretty well within Uma Totoro's formula.
In sum, without sacrificing their identity, the band achieved a dynamic and fresh-sounding album, and that instead of staying in the comfort of what they had already done before, boosted Uma Totoro back into the journey, back into the sonic quest that seems to always take them to the right destinations. —IMF